


Temper Tantrum

by TariSirfalas



Category: Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Genre: F/M, Multi, Slow Updates, Unfinished
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-19 00:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/566836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TariSirfalas/pseuds/TariSirfalas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jimmy's N Men power returns! After accidentally hurting Cindy, he exiles himself. Years later, can the gang convince him to come back?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Plans for the Weekend

It was a warm, beautiful summer day in Retroville. The sun was shining brightly upon the hazy little town. It was a perfect day to be outside. And almost everyone was, from Mrs. Neutron, who was gardening in the front yard, to Capn’ Betty, who was humming a sailing tune while sitting on a bench in the park. But there was one boy genius still inside.

Jimmy Neutron was lying on his bed, staring up at the blank white ceiling. His expression portrayed only one emotion: complete and utter boredom. His sapphire eyes were glazed over with dullness, and his limbs hung useless by his side. Goddard, his faithful robotic dog, was laid out on the bed beside him, dozing. Jimmy sighed, breaking the long heavy silence smothering the room.

“Aw, Goddard, I don’t know what to do. Carl is giving his mom a deep soothing sponge bath, and Sheen won’t be back until tomorrow from his family reunion in New Mexico. We have to find something to do,” he sighed. He lifted himself off the bed and started pacing the floor. “Come on, think, there has to be someone to hang out with, just for the afternoon.” he said. He stopped pacing and looked out the window. Bolbi was on the sidewalk across the street, trying to balance a shiscabob on his nose. “At the last resort, I’ll have to play with Bolbi.” Jimmy said. He shuddered, thinking of the possibility. Looking away from the window, he thought for a moment, putting his hand on his chin. Goddard stretched and stood up on the bed. “I know!” Jimmy exclaimed at last. “I’ll go to the Candy Bar. There has to be someone there to hang out with.” He started for the door, but suddenly, a deep hole appeared in the floor in front of him, and caught unaware, he fell through. Then as Goddard tried to jump in after him, it quickly vanished, snuffing out Jimmy’s desperate screams.

Meanwhile, at the Candy Bar, Cindy and Brittney were sitting in a booth, talking, when Libby ran up to them, holding a piece of paper in her hand.

“Like, what’s up with you?” Brittney asked.

“Hurry…go find dates,” Libby stammered, out of breath.

“Dates? For what?” Cindy questioned.

“For this!” Libby shouted, slamming the piece of paper on the table in front of them. It looked like a flyer ripped from a bulletin somewhere. It was decorated to look like a starry night, with a full moon hung beautifully in a dark sky. “I found it stapled to a pole outside. Check it out!” Libby cried. Cindy and Brittney looked back down at the flyer. It read in big fancy letters at the top: Midsummer’s Ball, formal dance.

“Ooh, a midsummer’s ball. That sounds romantic,” Cindy sighed, eyes lighting up.

“Yeah, but I bet it’s, like, only for the adults,” Brittney complained.

“Actually, it says that all ages are invited. So anyone who can ‘shake their thang’ can go,” Libby said sassily. “I’m gonna to get my funk on!”

“Well, in that case,” Cindy replied. “count us in. Now, what about dates? Who are you gonna go with Libs, although I think I know already.”

“Yeah, I’m goin’ with Sheen, you can count on it. When he finds out about this dance, he’s gonna ask me to go with him faster than you can say ‘sugar rush’. He’s so predictable, but cute, in a weird kinda way,” Libby said, looking up thoughtfully. “Who are you asking, Brittney?”

“Duh, Nick. We’ve been dating for, like, three weeks now.”

“Ok, what about you, Cin? You could ask Jimmy. It would be a perfect way to see him in his suit again,” Libby encouraged. Suddenly a dreamy look came on Cindy’s face. With her emerald eyes twinkling, she envisioned Jimmy, standing handsomely in front of the church at Jet Fusion’s wedding.

“What a hunk muffin,” she murmured. Then she realized what she was doing and snapped out of the daydream. “I mean…what an idea! Me and Nerdtron! Ha! I’d rather go with Butch,” she spat, looking disgusted, her eyes no longer shining.

“Come on girl, we all know you and Jimmy like each other. Why can’t you both accept that and move on?” Libby argued.

“Oh, that’s obvious. It’s because…um…because…” Cindy stuttered, blushing.

“See, you can’t even tell me why you guys keep fighting,” Libby said. “Come on girl, give it a shot.”

“Oh, ok. I’ll ask him, but don’t expect me to hold his hand or anything. I’m just doing this because it’s a couples only dance,” Cindy added.

“Mm-hmm,” Libby murmured, giving Brittney a knowing look.

 

Jimmy landed in a tall, cushioned chair at the head of a long table. There were mysterious, half-hidden people sitting at the table, almost invisible in the dark room. They were whispering suspiciously, although he couldn’t make out any words. Suddenly, a familiar figure approached from the side.

“Agent Neutron, welcome back to BTSO headquarters,” it stated, holding out a hand.

“Commander Baker, nice to see you,” Jimmy replied, shaking his hand. “But maybe you should warn me next time you do that.”

“Too risky. Besides, where’s the fun in that? That’s the only entertainment we get around here,” Commander Baker insisted, gesturing towards the whispering figures.

“Ok, so what do you need? Do you want me to go on another mission? I promise to keep Carl’s singing to a minimum this time,” Jimmy said.

“Actually, we need your scientific help,” Commander Baker answered. A viewing screen slid down from the ceiling in front of Jimmy. Commander Baker pressed a button on a remote in his hand and an image of a floating band of blue-white energy appeared on the screen. “We have been studying you and your friends’ encounter with the effects of the Vatpaten Radiation Belt. You and your friends developed super powers, based on what you were doing when they hit. Long story short, your friends destroyed half of your town from ignorance, and you destroyed the other half with your power for obvious reasons.” A picture of Jimmy, transformed by his N Men power, holding a hotdog stand above his head, showed on the screen. Jimmy sank lower in his chair and smiled sheepishly. “But, eventually, you managed to cure yourselves before the powers drained all your friends’ life forces. Later, you developed power packets that enable you to have those powers back for a limited time, without any negative effects.” Commander Baker paused, obviously for dramatic effect. “That being said, I have an assignment for you. We at BTSO want a way for our agents, you included, to have access to these powers while on dangerous missions. We need you to find a way to transfer those powers into specially designed suits that will make it possible to have all those powers at their disposal.”

“Don’t you guys have scientists that could do this?” Jimmy asked nervously. “It seems kinda dangerous to be messing with that much radiation at one time.”

“That’s why we need someone with more experience dealing with Vatpaten radiation, such as you. You are our best scientist for this assignment,” Commander Baker said, soaking his words in overdramatic praise. A look of confidence spread across Jimmy’s face, and his eyes shone bravely.

“Commander Baker, I accept! I’ll have those suits ready in no time!” Jimmy proclaimed, shaking his hand once more.

“Excellent! Oh, one more thing. We only want the powers for Special Girl, The Invisible Sister, and Vibrating Lad. You and your friend Carl’s powers are too unpredictable, especially yours,” Commander Baker explained, pointing with the remote in his hand at the viewing screen, which still had the picture of mutated Jimmy on it. Jimmy looked into his own transformed eyes and shuddered, thinking of what could have happened if Cindy hadn’t changed him back on that fateful day.

The next day, Cindy and Libby were walking down the street in their neighborhood. It was an equally beautiful day, but Cindy didn’t notice any of its splendors.

“What if he says no, Libby? It’s too embarrassing!” she cried, her arms folded protectively.

“What if he says yes, huh? Come on, just think. You’re asking him to the ball in a private conversation. Remember last Valentine’s Day when he confessed on bended knee like that in front of everyone? This is way less embarrassing,” Libby pointed out.

“I guess you’re right. But I’m still nervous,” Cindy muttered, looking down at the sidewalk. As they were passing Sheen’s house, he walked out the door, striding very ‘manly’, swinging his arms.

“Hey Libby!” he called, waving at her.

“Hey Sheen,” Libby answered, stopping on the sidewalk with Cindy. “How was your family reunion?”

“Eh, it was ok. My aunt was trying to teach me Spanish again, but the only thing I know is ‘stinky pelican’,” Sheen said, walking up in front of them.

“Stinky pelican?” Libby asked with a look of slight disgust.

“Ahuh,” Sheen answered. “But while I was there, my dad told me to call him ‘papi’ for some reason and he kept talking in Spanish super fast. He told me he didn’t want to make his family think that he had abandoned his heritage, whatever that means. Anyway, hey Libby, I heard there’s gonna be some kind of dance this weekend at the Candy Bar. You, me, shaking our tail feathers, want to?”

“What I tell you,” Libby whispered to Cindy. “Sure, Sheen. I’ll go with you,” she agreed.

“Yes!” Sheen said, punching a fist in the air. “I was going to take UltraLady, but then I thought of you, and decided to ask you instead.”

“Aw, that’s so adorable!” Libby cooed, pinching Sheen’s cheek. He smiled sweetly, and stared dreamily into Libby’s licorice black eyes. Just then, Carl came running up to them.

“Guys, guys, guess what? Elke is coming to Retroville to visit her cousin for two weeks! I’m going to ask her to that dance!” he exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement.

“Cool, Carl. That means everyone we know has a date except Cindy and Jimmy,” Libby said, throwing Cindy a look of ‘innocent’ persuasion. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and stared at her.

“Ok, ok. I’ll ask him already. Sheesh,” Cindy said, cringing from the mass staring.

“I don’t know if you can talk to him right now,” Carl interjected. “I was looking for him this morning and he was in his lab. He said he was working on something really top secret and that he couldn’t tell anyone what it was.”

“Well he’ll come out if we’re all there,” Libby responded. “Come on, guys.” They all walked around Jimmy’s house and stood outside the clubhouse. “Hey Jimmy, come out! Sheen’s back and we want to talk to you!” Libby yelled at the clubhouse. A minute later Jimmy came out of the door, wearing his lab coat. Cindy suddenly remembered why they had come. She started breathing heavily and stared at the ground nervously.

“Hey Sheen, how was the reunion?” Jimmy asked curiously.

“Eh, it was ok,” Sheen repeated. “My aunt was…” Libby quickly covered his mouth.

“Anyway…Jimmy, Cindy has something to ask you. Privately,” she added, giving Carl and Sheen a hard look. “Come on guys; let’s go ask Mrs. Neutron if she wants help in the yard.” She and Carl walked away, Libby dragging Sheen by the shirt.

“Aw, but I want to see the action!” Sheen protested.

“Action?” Jimmy asked. “What’s going on here? I have an important…project…to do, and I don’t need to be interrupted.” He looked at Cindy, whose heart was pounding in her chest like the bass at a GrayStar concert. She looked up at Jimmy’s eyes, and tried to imagine him back in his suit, but that only made her more nervous.  
Summoning all her emotional strength, she stammered, “Um, did you hear about that Midsummer’s Ball they’re going to have at the Candy Bar?”

“Yeah, I heard about that. I think it sounds kinda dumb. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go with me, but if you think it’s dumb then…” she said, crestfallen.

“Wait, you want to go with me?” Jimmy asked. He eyes light up magically and Cindy’s heart skipped a beat as he smiled.

“Well, yeah. But if you don’t want to go, it’s ok,” she muttered, starting to turn away.

“Hold on,” he said, holding out a hand to stop her. “When is it?”

“This weekend,” Cindy answered, her eyes twinkling with hope.

“If I work hard, I can have that…project…done by this weekend. I’d really like to go with you to the dance,” he added. Cindy’s heart skipped a beat again and she smiled dreamily.

“Great. I’ll see you later then,” she said, reluctantly turning away.

“Yeah, later,” Jimmy murmured. He stared at Cindy as she walked away towards the street. “I’ll start with your power first.” he whispered as he walked back in the clubhouse.


	2. Explosion Heard 'Round the Neighborhood

That night in his lab, Jimmy worked tirelessly through the long hours of the night, always thinking of the ball, and Cindy. Whenever he would start to slow down, his limbs heavy with fatigue, he thought of Cindy wearing the beautiful green sparkled dress his mom made him buy her for her birthday, and he would force himself to work even harder. But by 3 am, he was not thinking clearly enough. He worked on, like a zombie, determined to finish by the weekend, but finally conked out asleep on the table, knocking two beakers crashing to the floor. The blue and yellow liquids mixed into an ugly shade of green, and it bubbled and fizzed like it was on fire, running slowly downhill until it hit the oil on the ground dripping from the rocket. The bubbling increased, as the putrid green swirled into the dark inky blackness of the hot oil, and then…

It wasn’t a huge explosion. The house was still standing strong as ever, but the clubhouse, sadly, was not. The blast could be seen for half a mile, smoke rising into the clear summer sky.

Jimmy’s parents ran to the window facing the backyard after they had been woken up from the thunderous explosion. Smoke engulfed the whole backyard, but they could faintly see the tangled ruins through the thick smoke.

“Oh my goodness, the clubhouse!” his mom cried. “Quick, Hugh, go get Jimmy. He has some explaining to do.”

“Okey dokey,” his dad said, clearly unhindered by the explosion. He walked to Jimmy’s door and peaked in. As he did, his head went through the hologram projector that showed the room as if Jimmy was in bed. “Oh, not again with the hologram.” he said as he went back to his wife. “Jimbo has his hologramy thingy on again, and he’s not in bed. He must be in his…” he said, slowly looking out the window at the clearing smoke.

“Jimmy!!” they both screamed.

Cindy was rudely awakened by a light coming through her window facing the street. She got out of bed saying, “Oh, what now? Is Sheen trying to signal to his ‘alien brethren’ again?” She looked out the window, scanning for the source of the light. Then she saw the small mushroom cloud coming from behind Jimmy’s house, and gasped. She stared in horror as the swirling smoke rose into the sky and covered the moon. The smoke reflected in her eyes, like two explosions deep inside her. “No, no, NO!” she said, first as a whisper, then growing into a scream as she ran down the stairs and out the door. 

Sprinting across the street, she saw other people coming out of their houses or looking out windows, entranced by the spectacle. Blinking back tears, she ran on.

As she rounded the corner around the house, she saw Jimmy’s parents running out the back door. The smoke had cleared and she could see the jumbled pieces of wood and metal that had been the clubhouse. Fire was burning in places, causing shadows to dance in the wreckage, Jimmy’s dad ran back in the house to grab the fire extinguisher. His mom was standing motionless, swaying softly, staring unseeing into the burning debris.

“Mrs. Neutron!” Cindy yelled, running up to her. Judy Neutron was shaken out of her trance, and turned around as Cindy stopped in front of her.

“Cindy, sweetie, go back home. You shouldn’t be here.” she said, her eyes wide and fearful.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Neutron, but I have to be here. Jimmy’s my friend.” Cindy said, being as forceful as she dared. Jimmy’s dad ran out of the house with the fire extinguisher, his face unusually serious. He started to extinguish the fires, his eyes wild and terrified against the burning wood.

“Cindy!” a voice yelled. Cindy looked back to see Libby, Sheen, and Carl running up to the ruins, parents in tow. “What happened?” Libby said when they stopped and stared at the fiery wreck.

“I don’t know!” Cindy said. “All I know is that he’s in there somewhere, probably trapped.” Voices could be heard in the front of the house, rising and falling like the roar of waves.

Carl’s mom spoke up, her hair still in rollers. “We’ll keep the crowd under control.” she said, nodding at the other parents. They walked back toward the street. The voices slowly quieted to a low rumble. Jimmy’s mom stood up straight and stared at them with as hopeful a look as she could muster.

“When Hugh is done putting out the flames, we’ll all help look for…his body.” she said, reluctant to say the word. At the signal of Mr. Neutron, Cindy and the gang started shifting through the twisted metal and blackened wood. They saw familiar objects in the debris, shattered mirrors, a burnt chicken clock, a brass doorknob that Carl refused to pick up, and Jimmy’s computer chair, charred black. Cindy stopped and looked at the people around her. Everyone was very serious, even Sheen. He didn’t even smile when Carl tripped over a piece of wood and fell over. She knew they all had good reason to be this dull, but it was still unnerving to watch all those sad faces all at once. She sighed and looked back down at the pile she was shifting through. She suddenly picked up a piece of metal and cried out. Mrs. Neutron stumbled to her. “What is it, sweetie? Did you find him?” she said.

Cindy sniffled and wiped away a tear. “No, but look.” she said, holding up the metal in her shaking hand. It was Goddard’s lower jaw.

“Oh Goddard.” Mrs. Neutron said, taking the piece from Cindy. She stroked it lovingly. Suddenly, it started to shake wildly. Mrs. Neutron dropped it hurriedly, as if it had bit her. It started to slide across the ground on its own, followed by many other pieces from all over the ruins.

“It can’t be.” Libby said, awestruck. Metal plates and bolts practically flew to an empty place on the lawn and attached themselves together until Goddard’s familiar form was reassembled. He barked happily as everyone ran up to him.

“I have no idea how, but Goddard’s alive.” Mrs. Neutron said.

“Hey, I have an idea! What if we used Goddard to search for Jimmy?” Libby said, patting Goddard head.  
“Hey yeah. Ok Goddard, go get Jimmy. Go on, get him.” Sheen said, whistling and patting his knees.

“You have to say it scientifically, like this: Goddard, scan for life forms in the debris.” Cindy said. Goddard immediately opened up his screen and radar satellite. Cindy stared at the radar for a second and then looked at the wreck. “I know where he is.” she said. She hurriedly scrambled over the rubble and started to dig wildly. “Come on guys. I can’t do this alone.” she said, looking back at them. They ran to the place where she was digging and helped. After layers and layers of objects, an arm could be seen.

“Oh my goodness.” Mrs. Neutron gasped quietly. Digging more, they finally pulled Jimmy out and laid him on the grass. His entire body was red, and his clothes were rags. Only his pants seemed to hold together. His face was peaceful, his mouth open slightly. It was an unreal experience, seeing Jimmy, the boy who had saved the world thousands of times, lying helpless and beaten.

“Is he..?” Libby said. Cindy looked at his chest. It was rising and falling slowly, almost undetectable in the dark.

“No, look. He’s breathing.” she said. A glimmer of hope danced in her eyes. Mr. Neutron picked Jimmy up carefully and carried him over his shoulder. His face was a picture of seriousness.

“Come on, we have to hurry.” he said, running around the house. During the time that they had been looking for Jimmy, the police, the fire department, the press, and an ambulance had arrived. The kids’ parents were still keeping the crowd back, with the help of the police. As Mr. Neutron ran out to the front lawn, the crowd started yelling and cameras started clicking when they saw the limp body of Jimmy Neutron, boy genius. Mr. and Mrs. Neutron, Cindy, Libby, Carl, and Sheen piled into the back of the ambulance with Jimmy’s unconscious body. Cindy stared at Jimmy, willing him to open his beautiful blue eyes and tell her that everything was going to be all right.

With the smoke gone, the starry sky twinkled with hope, and the nearly full moon shone gently.

Jimmy woke comfortable and warm. As the room slowly focused, he could make out familiar faces. His mom, dad, and all his friends were there, even Cindy. He moved to sit up, but when he tried, pain seared through his entire body. Exhausted with the attempt, he lay back down on his pillow. Staring at all the faces around the bed, he said, “What happened?”

“You tell us!” Libby said. “All we know is that the entire clubhouse exploded, with you inside!”

“It was terrifying!” Carl said.

“You gave us quite a scare there, Jimbo.” Mr. Neutron said, who his cheery old self was once again. The door opened, and a doctor in a white coat came through. He had a very pointy face, short black hair that was slicked back, and he kept smiling creepily.

“Mr. and Mrs. Neutron, will you come with me, please? You need to sign a few things.” he said. He glanced at Jimmy, gave him a huge toothy smile, and winked. Jimmy turned back to his friends as his parents filed out the door with the smiling doctor.

“Ok, now what’s the deal? What the heck were you doing in the lab?” Cindy said.

“I guess I can tell you guys, but you have to keep it a secret. Nobody else can know about this.” Jimmy said. He quickly looked around for any cameras in the room.

“Ok, so spill. What’s this ‘project’ you just had to do?” Libby said.

“BTSO asked me to make super suits with our N Men powers so that they could use them for missions. But in order to do that, I needed to work with a lot of dangerous radiation. I probably shouldn’t have rushed myself just to go to the dance.” said Jimmy, looking ashamed. “But anyway, I must have fallen asleep. I don’t know what caused the explosion, but thank Neptune I fell asleep before it. That’s probably the only reason I’m alive. Every muscle in my body was completely relaxed.” There was a moment of silence after those words. Then Jimmy said, “Did any of my inventions survive?”

“Well…no, everything’s gone except the hover car, cause that was outside, and whatever’s in your room is ok.” Cindy said.

“The last eight years of my life, gone up in smoke.” Jimmy said, gloomily. “Wait, what about Goddard? Didn’t he make it?” At the sound of his name, Goddard jumped up onto the bed and licked Jimmy’s face. “Good boy, Goddard! You self-destructed at the last minute didn’t you? Just like I told you! Good boy!” Jimmy rubbed Goddard’s nose. He just then noticed his arms and hands. They were a reddish orange.

“Holy Hinesburg! Look at my skin! he said.

“’Bout time you noticed.” Cindy said. “The doctor said you have some kind of radiation burn.”

“You totally look like the Tomato King from UltraLord episode #582: UltraLord vs. the Mutant Veggies!” Sheen said.

“Hey, I thought tomatoes were fruits.” Carl said.

“Maybe in your twisted reality Carl, but clearly they are veggies.” Sheen said.

“Fruit.” Carl said.

“Veggies.”

“Fruit.”

“Veggies.”

“Fruit.”

“Look Carl, if Ultra lord Inc. says that tomatoes are veggies, then tomatoes are veggies.” Sheen said.

“Guys, cut it out. You could show a little more sympathy ya know. Jimmy’s been through a lot.” Libby said. At that moment the door opened and Jimmy’s parents came back into the room, followed by the doctor from before.

“Good news, sweetie!” Mrs. Neutron said. “Dr. Mangalore says that you can go home tomorrow morning!” Dr. Mangalore smiled toothily.

“That’s right, kiddo!” He walked over to the bed, and pulled a tube of ointment out of his white coat. “And all you have to do is rub this on yourself every night until the burn is all gone.” He gave Jimmy the ointment and turned back to face Jimmy’s parents. 

“Would you like to stay here some more, Mr. and Mrs. Neutron? Visiting hours don’t end until two more hours.”

“No thank you, I think we all need to go home and get some much needed rest.” Mrs. Neutron said. Carl yawned widely right on cue. “We all stayed up all night to see if you would wake up.”

“I figured as much.” Jimmy said as Sheen and Carl yawned at the same time. “It’s ok if you go, mom. I’ll be fine. But Goddard can stay, right?”

“Of course, kiddo.” Dr. Mangalore said. “We allow hairless pets to stay with their owners while they’re here. And your pooch is no exception.”

“Good night, Jimmy.” Mrs. Neutron said as everyone but Cindy moved toward the door.

“Um, Mrs. N, can I stay a few more minutes?” she said. Mrs. Neutron looked knowingly down at her.

“All right, dear. But don’t stay long.” She said. She gave Jimmy a kiss on the cheek and walked out the door. There was a silence when she left, as Cindy walked over to Jimmy’s bed and sat in a chair beside him.

“So…” Jimmy said, filling up the silence.

“So…” Cindy repeated. She looked away from him, mustering up the courage to talk to him. “So…I guess you can still go to the ball, huh?”

“I guess so.” Jimmy said. The silence was unbearable. Cindy looked back at Jimmy, and his eyes, like two blue spots in a sea of orange, stared right back at her.

“Oh, I can’t take this! It’s all my fault this happened!” Cindy yelled, and promptly burst into tears. She leaned over in the chair and covered her face. Taken aback at her sudden outburst, Jimmy lay speechless for a few minutes. Finally, he painfully sat up, and taking his discolored hand, lifted up Cindy’s tear streaked face.

“It’s not your fault.” He said. “It’s mine. If I hadn’t tried to work on the suits all night…”

“But I was the one you were rushing for.” Cindy said. “I should have told you that you shouldn’t try to hurry. It’s all my fault.” She blinked hard and a single tear slowly ran down her face. Jimmy wiped it away, saying “Don’t beat yourself up for this. I’m the so-called genius, and I say this is my fault, ok?”

“All right.” Cindy said reluctantly. She started hiccupping, and tears still dripped down her flushed cheeks.

“Good. Goddard, tissue.” Goddard opened his back compartment, and with his robotic hand, gave Jimmy a tissue. Jimmy handed it to Cindy, and said, “Now dry up. You don’t want my mom to see you crying. She makes such a fuss. I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?”

“All right.” Cindy said, unable to say anything else. She got off the chair, taking the tissue, and started to turn away. But before Jimmy could object, she suddenly turned back to him and kissed him on his cheek, exactly where his mom had. She stared at his bewildered face for a second, and then bolted out the door.

Jimmy stared at the open door for a moment, and then lay back down on his pillow, exhausted. He touched his cheek where Cindy had kissed him.

“Well Goddard, I guess I’m not bored anymore.” He said, rubbing Goddard’s nose with his other hand as Goddard sat beside his master’s bed.


	3. Shall We?

In the middle of the night, Jimmy lay asleep with Goddard at the end of his bed. His side of the hospital awas completely quiet, except the buzz of the drink machine in the hall, and the distant chatting of some late night nurses at their desk. Suddenly, a hand shot out of the darkness and shook Jimmy awake.

“Huh?” he said. He squinted in the dark. “Commander Baker?” The director of BTSO was indeed there, though it was hard to see him in the gloom. Only his white suit gave him away.

“Agent Neutron, when we heard what happened, we felt it was necessary to come to you in person to see you well.”

“Well, I appreciate that, but couldn’t you have come a little earlier…or later.” Jimmy said.

“Ah, you know company rules. I was cutting it close even when I was marrying Agent Fusion. Anyway, I came in person to ask forgiveness for making you do the super suit project for us. We should have had our scientists work on it, just as you said. We hope you will forgive us, and continue to be an agent in our organization.”

“It’s ok, commander. I was trying to rush to hard to get it done. No hard feelings.”

“We also want to do our own analyze on your condition. We don’t trust any doctors on our agents except our own.” Commander Baker pulled out what looked like a palm pilot. He pressed a few buttons, and a slit of blue light ran up and down Jimmy’s body. “Ok, that should do it. We will send the analysis back to you when we have, well, analyzed it. Goodbye and goodnight, Agent Neuron. I am glad you will be well soon.”  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
“I’m bored!” Sheen said. “When’s Jimmy coming back?”

“His mom said to be patient. They have to make sure he can walk first.” Carl said as they both sat on Carl’s front porch. “If you’re bored enough, we can go help them clear Jimmy’s backyard.”

“No way! I’m not that desperate! Besides, I think I see their car coming now.” Mrs. Neutron’s blue convertible came up the road and parked in the driveway. Jimmy’s parents got out, with Jimmy shakily behind them. Carl and Sheen ran towards them.

“Jimmy!” Carl said, pulling him into a hug.

“Careful, Carl. I’m still kinda sore.” Jimmy said.

“Oh, sorry.” Carl said, letting him go. “So, what are we gonna do now?”

“I’m going to go up to my room to take stock of what inventions I have left. You guys can come up too and play my YCube if you want.”  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
Cindy looked out her window when she heard a car outside. Sure enough, there was Jimmy with his parents and Carl and Sheen. His skin looked a little lighter than yesterday, but only a little. She showed a small smile as she watched Jimmy talk animatedly with Carl.

“I’m glad he’s back.” She thought to herself. “I should go talk to him, make plans for the weekend…Oh, but he probably wants some rest…but then again, I don’t want him to think I don’t care…Oh, this is so hard!” She sat heavily in her desk chair. Suddenly a beep on her computer told her Libby was online. She typed a message:

KarateKid2.0: hey libs, wats up?

Almost instantly, she replied.

MusicMuze500: nutin much. how r u?

KarateKid2.0: fine. hey, neutron’s back

MusicMuze500: ya no, by now, i’d think u’d be callin him jimmy by now

KatateKid2.0: sorry. force of habit. jimmy’s back

MucicMuze500: cool. y don’t u go talk 2 him?

KatateKid2.0: o i don’t know. i want 2 give him some time 2 rest

MusicMuze500: ok. by the way, wat did u do yesterday in his room after we left? u were there awile

There wasn’t a reply.

MusicMuze500: cin?

KarateKid2.0: can u promise not 2 tell?

MusicMuze500:sure. Cross my heart and hope to break my cds

KarateKid2.0: lol, ok, i started cryin cause i thought it was my fault he got hurt. he told me it was his fault, he gave me a tissue, & then, when he didn’t expect it, i kissed his cheek

MusicMuze500: wow, gurl. u getin serious huh? lol

KarateKid2.0: alright. got 2 go. mom’s callin 4 lunch. c u later

MusicMuze500: bye

Cindy shut down her computer, feeling better now that she had found an outlet for her thoughts. She sighed happily as she walked downstairs for lunch.

Jimmy became stronger as the few days before the ball went by, and by the time Saturday night came, he was completely healed, except for his radiation burn, which after a few days had not gotten any better.

“Mom, is this ever going to go away?” he said to his mom as she straightened his bowtie.

“Oh, of course it is, sweetie. You just have to be patient.” She said. “Now, your father and I will be at the ball too if you need us, ok? Are you sure you don’t want us to drive you and Cindy?”

“I’m sure. Besides, I think she’ll like our transportation for the evening.”

When Jimmy knocked on Cindy’s front door, he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. Cindy’s mom answered the door. Jimmy shyly said, “Um, is Cindy ready for the ball?”

Cindy’s mom surveyed him from top to bottom. “You must be this Jimmy she keeps talking about. Come in.” Jimmy shuffled into the foyer and looked around. It looked like a middle class house that thought it was a mansion. Fancy vases on glass tables held delicate flowers and from what he could see, the whole house was decorated in a kind of French colonial décor. Cindy’s mom called upstairs.

“Cindy, there’s an orange, young man for you down here.”

“I’ll be down in a second.” Cindy called. Jimmy coughed nervously.

“So…” he said, noticing Cindy’s mom wasn’t dressed for the ball. “Are you going to the ball as well, Mrs. Vortex?”

“No, unfortunately. It is a couples only ball, and Mr. Vortex has to work late tonight.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Jimmy said, looking down at the floor. There was an awkward silence.

“Ok, I’m here.” Jimmy looked up to see Cindy at the top of the stairs. She was wearing the green shimmery strapless dress he had envisioned her in with a golden brooch pinned on her shoulder. The dress made her eyes light up magically. Her blond hair was pulled back in a bun, with two wisps of hair framing her face, just like when she was co-anchor with Jimmy on that kid’s news program. She began gracefully walking downstairs, making little mirrors of herself to appear on each diamond-shaped crystal on the chandelier in the foyer.

“Cindy, you look…wow.” Jimmy said, speechless. Cindy giggled, squinting her eyes.

“You’re not so bad yourself, handsome. Same hair though.” She said, eyeing his whippy-dip hairstyle.

“Why mess with a classic?” he said, brushing his hair with his hand. He put out his arm. “Shall we?”

“Ok.” she said nervously. She took his arm and they walked out the door.

“Have a fabulous time, Cindy. Be sure to come home by curfew.” Cindy’s mom said as she closed the door behind them.

“So, how are we getting there?” Cindy asked as they stood outside the house. Suddenly, Goddard flew down, flycycle mode, and hovered beside the sidewalk.

“Flycycle for two.” Jimmy said, leading Cindy towards Goddard.

“Wow.” She said. He helped Cindy on and swung on in front. As Goddard rocketed into the air, Cindy gasped and grabbed Jimmy around the waist, closing her eyes shut. Glancing back at her, Jimmy said, “Don’t worry, you’re fine.” He laughed, which made Cindy open her eyes and loosen her hold, but she didn’t let go, smiling softly behind his back.

From their view from above, Jimmy and Cindy could see that the Candy Bar was already packed with people. Twin searchlights crisscrossed the sky in the front and the windows showed multicolored lights dancing across the room. When Jimmy landed outside the Candy Bar, other people just arriving stared at them, unmercifully.

“I never told anyone except my parents and the guys. Did you?” Jimmy said.

“No one except Libby, Brittney, and my folks.” Cindy said.

“Well, this should be interesting.” He said. Cindy took his arm nervously, and they both walked through the double doors.

Inside, the tables and chairs had been removed to create a huge dance floor. The speakers around the floor were blaring funky music, vibrating from the sound. Looking around, they could see people of all ages dancing, some very well, and some, like Principal Willaby, were dancing kind of strange. It was easy to pick out Libby and Sheen, who were dancing right in the middle of the floor. Libby was wearing a crimson dress that matched Cindy’s, and a big flower in her hair. Sheen wore his T-shirt with a tux pattern on the front and his hair was slicked back.

When Cindy and Jimmy walked in, Cindy’s arm hooked around Jimmy’s, a few people looked, and nudged their friends. Soon, everyone was staring at them. The music stopped suddenly and the lights came on. There was a long moment of silence, and then suddenly everyone cheered. Voices of “Finally!” or “’Bout time!” could be heard above the rest. The music started up again, and the dance lights switched back on. As people slowly turned their attention back to the dance, Jimmy said, “I didn’t realize everyone would get that excited.”

“Me neither.” Cindy said, almost yelling over the music.

“Hey, I thought there was supposed to be ballroom dancing. Where are the waltzes and tangos?” Jimmy said. Cindy giggled.

“If you actually read the poster about the ball, you would know that there’s going to be a part in the middle of the ball when they’re going to play ballroom music. I guess they did that so people actually came to this.”

“Yeah.” Jimmy said.

“I’ll be right back. I need to put my purse down with the others.” She pointed at a pile of purses in a corner. “Ok?”

“Ok.” he said. As she left, Carl walked up with Elkie holding his hand. Carl was wearing his weather man suit from the kids news show, and Elkie was wearing a simple pale blue dress with thin straps. They were getting weird looks from around the room, but they didn’t seem to notice.

“Hey Jim.” He said. “Isn’t this great? Elkie came to Retroville just in time. She didn’t have a dress so she borrowed an old dress my mom had.”

“I was so surprised to learn it was her dress once upon a time.” Elkie said, giggling cutely. Just then Sheen and Libby came up to the group, breathing heavily.

“Whew. This is one funky party.” Libby said. She suddenly noticed Elkie. “Oh, you must be Elke! Nice to meetcha. I’m Libby.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Elkie said, holding out a hand. Libby ignored it and pulled Elkie into a hug.

“Ya know Elkie, huggin is how we girls say ‘hi’.” She said. Elkie looked surprised for a second, but then laughed and said, “Oh, well then, hi!” She hugged Libby back. Cindy came back and stood beside Jimmy. “Hi.” Elkie said to her and pulled her into a huge hug. Cindy stood startled for a full minute, because that’s how long Elkie hugged her.

“Um…hi. Elkie, right?” she said, gently pushing Elkie off and smiling at her.

“Come on, Elkie. Let’s go get some punch.” Libby said. She grabbed Elke’s arm and started talking excitedly with her.

“You better watch out, Carl. Too much of Libby when she’s in party mode might overwhelm the poor girl.” Cindy said. Carl quickly shuffled toward Libby and Elkie. 

“Hey Sheen, I heard that the UltraLord theme song is on the juke box. Why don’t you find out?” Jimmy said.

“Really?” Sheen said. He immediately ran towards the juke box. Jimmy reached over and took Cindy’s hand.

“Now that we’re alone, wanna dance?” he said.

“Sure.” she said, and suddenly they were dancing, moving rhythmically to the music. Time slowed down as they danced their way to the center of the dance floor, staring into each other’s eyes.


	4. The Monster Within

As song after song played, the music became more and more hypnotic until songs ran smoothly into each other and everyone dancing paid attention only to their bodies and the person dancing in front of them. So when the music suddenly stopped and the lights came on, everyone cringed and shook themselves, trying to come out of their dancing trances.

“Ok everyone; it’s time for the ballroom dancing!” Ms. Fowl said. A slow waltz started up, and after a few tense seconds, couples held hands and danced. Jimmy and Cindy, Libby and Sheen, and Carl and Elkie all backed away to the wall, gasping for air.

“I think…I speak for everyone here…when I say that we need a…break before we dance any…more.” Cindy said.

“Agreed.” Libby panted back. The three couples stood in silence for a few minutes, watching people waltz around the floor. Just then, two people came and stood in front of them, blocking their view.

“Am I to believe my eyes? Did James Neutron, the boy with newly orange skin, actually get a date? Someone pinch me!” Eustace Strych exclaimed.

“With pleasure.” said the girl beside Eustace, pinching him on the arm.

“Ow! You know I didn’t mean that, Veronica!” Eustace said.

“Yes, but you practically gave that one to me!” she said. The gang exchanged confused glances.

“Oh, you’re probably wondering in those middle-classed heads of yours what going on, hmm? Well, my father’s sponsored Little Miss Gorgeous had to be in a pageant tonight, so in order to be able to go to this silly little ball, I had to take my cousin, Veronica.” Veronica Strych smiled smugly. She looked almost exactly like Eustace, with long, wavy black hair, a snooty little nose, buck teeth, and an evil look in her eyes. They could have been twins if Victoria wasn’t a few inches taller than him. She wore a spectacular maroon dress and a diamond tiara on top of her head.

“I grow tired of taunting you, Eusty. I’m going to get some punch.” Veronica said, strolling towards the refreshment table.

“Eusty?!” Sheen yelled, bursting out laughing. Eustace glanced rudely at Sheen, but ignored him.

“As you can see, my cousin and I don’t even try to hide our distaste for each other, but ever since father took advice from your blithering idiot of a father, Jimmy, I had no choice in the matter but to take her.” Eustace said, showing a trace of anger.

“Oh grow up!” Cindy said. She held Jimmy’s hand tenderly with her left one, but her right one was clinched into a tight fist.

“Ah Cynthia, I assure you I am much more mature than in our last encounters. And indeed we are in the same yacht, if you will, in being forced to dance with one’s enemy, even if yours is the color of rusty metal.”

“For your information, ‘Eusty’, I asked Jimmy to go myself.” Cindy said.

“Indeed!” Eustace said, an evil-looking grin on his face. “Well let me just say that tonight, Retroville’s eligible bachelors just lost a lovely lady to the chains of commitment.”

“Save it, buck tooth britches!” Cindy said, glaring angrily at Eustace. He merely smiled snootily and walked away.

“I really hate that guy.” Cindy said, still glaring at his retreating back.

“Come on Cin, don’t even think about him. The next song’s coming on, I think. Let’s dance.” Libby said, grabbing Sheen’s hand and almost dragging him to the floor in her haste. The others followed suit and started dancing to the new music. No one saw it, but Jimmy slowly unclenched his own fist that hid behind his back.

Jimmy and Cindy walked hand-in-hand to the floor. He took her right hand in his left, and cautiously placed his hand on her waist. She reassuringly put her hand on his shoulder, and they started waltzing across the floor.

“You do know how to do this, right?” Cindy asked.

“Of course. Me, Sheen, and Carl used the Ultrashock Dance Teacher 8000 for all the dances they could possibly play here. No two left feet tonight.” He said. They were practically gliding across the room.

“Good.” She said, smiling. They danced in silence until the song was over and a new one began, this time faster. Almost every couple had to stop and get ready for the next dance, but Cindy and Jimmy barely missed a beat, gliding gracefully into the song.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Cindy.” Jimmy said as they twirled around the dance floor.

“Yeah well, my mom made me take dancing lessons when I was little. I’m glad she did now.” She said. Just then, Eustace and Veronica ‘accidentally’ bumped into them.

“Oh, I…James! We meet again. This is a nice little shindig, isn’t it? Oh, I have the most delicious idea! How about we switch partners?” Eustace said, letting Veronica go.

“No way Strych!” Jimmy said, putting an arm protectively across Cindy.

“Oh, do come on Jimmy. It will be fun.” Eustace replied, reaching for Cindy. Cindy, meanwhile, was about to angrily smack Eustace, when Jimmy suddenly grabbed Eustace’s arm and twisted it behind his back. Cindy gasped, her glare replaced by shock.

“Ow, that hurts! I would appreciate it if you stopped that!” Eustace said, looking back at Jimmy. Jimmy put his face dangerously near Eustace’s and glared into his eyes.

“I said back off.” He whispered to him. He roughly let Eustace go and walked away, Cindy nervously following him. Eustace stared after them, rubbing his arm. There was a bewildered look on his face.

“Ha, you just got beaten by an orange freak!” Veronica said to him. “What are you going to do now?”

“Oh, I assure you I will get my revenge for this humiliation, but not tonight.”

“And why not? Is the big, bad orange boy too much for poor Eusty?” Veronica taunted.

“No! But I will tell you this. For a moment, when we were inches from each other’s face, right then, his eyes were green.”

Jimmy stomped over to the refreshment table and angrily grabbed a cup. Filling it with punch, he downed it in one. He got another and turned around to find Cindy staring at him.

“What?” he said irritably.

“Oh, nothing,” Cindy said sarcastically. “You just put Eustace in an arm lock, that’s all!”

“He deserved it.”

“Well, maybe he did,” Cindy said. “But that doesn’t explain why you did it. Usually I’m the one who resorts to fighting. I didn’t even know you could do an arm lock.”

Jimmy glared into the midst of the people still waltzing around the room. It seemed an eternity since Cindy and himself had too been dancing carefree across the room.

“I don’t know why I did it either. Maybe it was impulse, but I’ve never done that to anyone before, even to people like Eustace.” He closed his eyes. “Lately, I’ve been getting irritated very easily. Yesterday, when I was watching my favorite show, that emergency test screen came on. I got so mad; I threw my soda at the TV.” He glanced at Cindy. She was still staring at him, but with an expression he could not identify. He averted his eyes, afraid he would get mad at her too.

“Right now, when I think of Eustace I just want to…” He suddenly squeezed his cup, making it collapse in his hand, spilling punch down his arm and onto his angrily distorted face. He looked up at Cindy’s now plainly terrified face and his expression softened a little.

“I’m going to clean up in the bathroom.” He said a little too angrily than he meant. He tossed the cup into a trash can, and with a last look at Cindy, disappeared into the bathroom.

Cindy stood on the spot, staring at the door. Her expression displayed a mixture of sadness and fear. Suddenly Libby, Sheen, Carl, and Elkie came up to her, fresh from the dance floor.

“Hey Cin…” Libby started. “Whoa! What happened? Where’s Jimmy?” she said, seeing the look on her face. Cindy looked at Libby. She would always understand.

“Jimmy and I bumped into Eustace on the dance floor, literally. He tried to get Jimmy to let him dance with me, but Jimmy wouldn’t have it. When Eustace insisted, Jimmy, our Jimmy, put Eustace in an arm lock.” She paused as looks of shock and amazement crossed all their faces. “He’s in the bathroom right now, calming down I think.” She looked at the door again. “I just don’t know what to do.”

Inside the bathroom, Jimmy splashed his face, hunched forward in front of the sink. Water dripping down his face, he slowly straightened up. He looked absently in the mirror, and yelled out. There, where his reflection should have been was the face of a gruesome monster. He looked behind him, and seeing no one, looked closer at the monster. It had cracked, orange skin, and green hair and eyes. Apparently, it was very wide shouldered, because Jimmy couldn’t see its entire outline. Jimmy stood staring at this strange unfamiliar creature impersonating his reflection, yet he couldn’t help feeling like he knew it somehow. Then the reflection spoke, and a shocking realization hit Jimmy.

“You!” he shouted.

The monster threw his head back and laughed, a deep, resounding laugh that sent chills up Jimmy’s spine.

 **“You thought you could get rid of Jimmy, but Jimmy come back, and come back for good!”** his mutated self said, pointing a large, orange finger at Jimmy.

“How did you…how did I…how?” Jimmy stammered. The monster laughed again.

 **“Ha! You not remember explosion?”** he said.

“Explosion?” Jimmy murmured. He thought of the N-men suits, and the radiation, and finally his discolored skin. “Pukin’ Pluto, Of course! Why didn’t I see that before? I’ve had plenty of radiation burns before, and they’ve never looked that this.” The creature smiled evilly.

 **“Now it too late! You in public place with lots of people for Jimmy to crush! So let Jimmy out!”** He let out a thunderous roar. Jimmy suddenly remembered the ball. He thought of Cindy, his friends, his mom and dad, and countless other people who were unaware they had a human time bomb in the bathroom, waiting to explode.

“Never!” Jimmy shouted. The monster once again laughed.

“Jimmy knew you’d say that. Now Jimmy will make you let him out!” He roared again, and a sudden, excruciating pain came over Jimmy, causing him to bind over the sink, his eyes squeezed tight. **“Let Jimmy out!”** He heard the monster shout inside his head. **“Jimmy want to smash!”**

“Never.” Jimmy repeated through clenched teeth. “I’m going back to my house. I’ve got to get rid of you once and for all!” He tried to shuffle towards the door, but his feet couldn’t move, and he lurched sideways, falling to his knees.

The pain worsened, and Jimmy panted heavily as he said, “Let me go!”

 **“Not until you let Jimmy out!”** His mutated self said in his imagination.

“Never.” Jimmy said again, though considerately weaker. The monster seemed to notice.

 **“Why don’t you give up? You would not hurt no more.”** it said, almost calmly. The pain numbed down a little. Jimmy longed to just let go…but a sudden image of Cindy forced its way into his mind, and he knew he had to fight it.

“I’ll never let the people I care about get hurt because of me!” he shouted. Suddenly, the pain intensified to a level he had never experienced before, seeing white spots at the corner of his eyes. He heard another thunderous roar, and realized it was coming from his own mouth. He felt himself shaking, and cold sweat poured down his pain stricken face. A noise at the door caused him to jerk his head up.

Carl stood in the half-opened door, staring at him with a look of terror on his face. 

“Um…” he said nervously. “Cindy sent me t-to s-see if you ok. W-was that y-you I heard s-screaming?”

“Cindy” thought Jimmy. “She’ll know what to do.”

“Carl,” he said in-between gasps of pain. “Go get…Cindy. My N-men power…is back…Need to get him…under control…before it’s too late.”

“W-who?” Carl said, shaking. The pain grew even more, and Jimmy felt a stab of anger. He glared at Carl. Carl stared back, unable to move, until Jimmy finally shouted, **“Just go!”** in a booming voice that matched the monster’s. Carl watched in horror as veins slowly formed on the side of Jimmy’s head. He shut his eyes as a wave of pain hit him, and when he opened them again, they were green. Comprehension dawned on Carl, but he still couldn’t move.

 **“Now!”** Jimmy screamed, and Carl finally ran screaming from the room.


	5. A Push in the Wrong Direction

Outside on the dance floor, the light ballroom music had been replaced by the funky beats of dance music. The speakers were shaking from the sound, making it hard to hear the person next to you, let alone the boy’s bathroom. Through the dancing masses in the center of the floor Carl weaved in and out of couples and groups. As he finally got to the outside edge of the dancers, he saw Cindy and the rest of the gang waited for him. Carl wheezed as he ran up to them, breathing deeply from his inhaler. His eyes were wide with fright, something noticed by Cindy.

“Carl, what’s wrong? What’s Jimmy doing?” she said. Carl put his inhaler away, and stammered, “Guys…Jimmy…changing…N-men…GREEN EYES!”

“Calm down, Carl. What are you talking about?” Libby said.

“No time to explain. Come on!” Carl said, grabbing Cindy’s arm and pulling her towards the bathroom. Everyone hurriedly followed.

“Hold it, Carl. We can’t bring the girls in there. It’s against the Man Laws laid down by the Ancient Ones.” Sheen said. “We’ll be shunned by all mankind!” But Carl ignored Sheen, pulled open the door and pushed Cindy inside.

“Hurry!” He said, pulling Sheen, Libby, and Elke in with him. Everyone gasped in horror.

Jimmy had managed to prop himself up against the sink, leaning heavily on it, facing the door as they came in. He was covered in sweat and panting as if he had just run a mile around the room. His eyes flashed from blue to green and back again at odd intervals, and he looked like he was in great pain, which he was. At the sight of Cindy, his face softened, but when she cautiously tried to come closer, he waved his hand wildly to keep her away.

“No, don’t…come no…I mean any…closer.” He said quietly in his own voice. To reassure her, he mustered a small smile, but as he did, a wave of throbbing pain ran up his body. He gasped, and closed his fluxing eyes, clutching the sink tighter.

“What’s happening to you?” Cindy meant to say, but as Jimmy opened his eyes to stare at her, her question was answered on her lips.

 _“Green? I haven’t seen those since…”_ She gasped. Taking action, she yelled, “Everyone, get against the wall!” Her tone of voice made them scramble to obey her order. Cindy licked her lips. _“I have no idea how he got his power back, but I’ve got to get him to calm down, but how?”_ she thought. _“I don’t know what got him ang…”_ She had a sudden thought of Eustace’s sneering face. Her eyes flashed with a plan.

“Libby, go get Eustace. We need him to apologize to Jimmy.” Libby hurried out. 

“Sheen, I need you to get everyone out of here. Go pull the fire alarm.”

“But my dad told me not to do that anymore!” Sheen retorted.

“Just do it!” Cindy yelled. Sheen scrambled out the door. Cindy turned back to Jimmy. He was back on his knees, bend over in pain. Cautiously inching towards him, she said quietly, “Um…Jimmy? How did this happen?” He turned his sweat ridden face to her slowly.

“The…explosion.” Was all he said, but Cindy understood. All this time, Elke had been shaking with fright, utterly confused.

“Carl, what is going on?” she asked fearfully. Carl reached out and took her hand.

“It’s too hard to explain right now, but don’t worry. I’ll protect you.” He said.

They all turned as they heard a struggle at the door. Libby was trying to push Eustace in, while Eustace continued to resist.

“What are you simpletons doing? I’ll not be handled like this! I…” He caught sight of Jimmy. An evil grin spread across his face. _“It looks like I’ll have my revenge tonight after all!”_ he thought. He walked willingly the rest of the way in the door, and stopped in front of Jimmy. “What’s this James? Are you having a fit? Can I watch?” He laughed evilly at his own joke. Jimmy glared angrily at Eustace, the hatred in his eyes burning green. And that was all it took for the monster to start taking control.

Almost instantly, the pain in his body intensified as pulsing veins appeared on his forehead. He clutched his stomach painfully and fell over onto his side. He squeezed his eyes shut, but if they were open, they would have been growing a brighter green with each second. Jimmy continued his inward fight with his mutated self.

**“Aha! You angry with somebody! Now Jimmy smash him for you!”**

“No! I know you won’t stop at Eustace. I’m not letting anyone get hurt, not even Eustace, even though he deserves it.”

**“You want Snooty Boy smashed, you do. Why you hate him so much?”**

“Well, he…wait! It’s none of your business!

 **“Oh, but it is Jimmy’s busyness. Your busyness is Jimmy’s busyness. Let Jimmy see…”** Jimmy mind suddenly filled with images of Eustace’s sneering face. As picture after picture floated in his brain, Jimmy became angrier and angrier at him.

As Jimmy’s inner battle raged on, Cindy battled with Eustace.

“Eustace, you idiot! I didn’t bring you here to insult Jimmy! You’re here to save your own skin, plus ours!” she yelled at him.

“What would I need to save myself from? He’s just having some sort of fit is all,” he retorted.

“No he’s not. Didn’t you watch the news for when we almost destroyed the town with superpowers?” she said.

“Why yes, I did! I laughed very heartily when this insolent boob here,” He pointed at Carl. “blew the cameraman away with one of his rude belches!”

“Well if you remember what Jimmy turned into, you’ll know why we’re in danger!” she said.

“Oh, I remember that! The idiot kept talking in third person! Is that what he’s doing then? Turning into that? Oh, no! A grammatically incorrect monster! What ever will we do!” he said sarcastically. He laughed again. Cindy glared at Eustace with as much intensity as she could.

“Listen buster,” she said, grabbing the front of his blazer. “If you don’t apologize to Jimmy right now, so help me I’ll…” But at that moment, Jimmy spoke, but not with Jimmy’s voice.

 **“No, Blond girl. Let Jimmy smash Snooty Boy for you!”** Jimmy slowly got up from the floor, glaring green eyed at Eustace. His body contorted with concentrated rage. And slowly, he changed.

Veins appeared all over his body, pulsated with increasing energy. He grew larger-than-life muscles, causing his shirt to rip and tear and finally fall to the floor in tatters. His watch popped off his wrist and landed at Cindy’s feet. As he grew, his shoes ripped with the sound off stressed leather. Soon, his shoes too were torn beyond repair, showing large orange feet. He finally reached the ceiling, and then, as soon as it started, it stopped. The creature before them was no longer Jimmy, no longer a friend. It let out an earth-shaking roar and glared at Eustace with a much more intimidating stare.

“Um…did I say idiot? I-I meant i-in-increadible! So, how ‘bout we forget this whole ‘smashing’ business, and you can turn back. Please?” he whimpered. But the monster formally known as Jimmy just smiled even more evilly than Eustace, and moved closer. Eustace screamed like a little girl, and ran from the room. The creature continued to move towards the door, but Cindy waved her arms, diverting its attention.

“Jimmy! Jimmy! Don’t do this! Fight it! You need to fight this!” she said to it. “I’m not letting you past this door.”

 **“Blond Girl knows Jimmy can’t fight himself. But Jimmy won’t hurt Blond Girl neither.”** And with that, it turned and smashed his way through the wall. Cindy covered her eyes from the dust, and when it cleared, she saw the parking lot, with cars smashed out of the way, and the star stringed sky above the buildings in the near distance. Cindy picked up Jimmy watch in front of her, and put it on her own wrist.

 _“Well, so much for my great plan.”_ She said to herself.

There was an awed silence in the bathroom as the children stared open-mouthed at the hole in the wall left by Jimmy’s escape. They had time to exchange terrified glances before, with a gigantic hiss; sprinklers on the ceiling burst forth a torrent of rain. They turned to the door as Sheen scrambled inside.

“I did it! I got the…” he started to say as he noticed the crumbling wall. “Whoa, what’d I miss?” he asked, looking expectedly at them. The silence broke.

“Well…um, Sheen,” Cindy said. “Jimmy kind of…turned into a rampaging monster again.”

“Really? Cool! This dance just keeps getting better and better!” Sheen said, a goofy look of enchantment on his face. Libby turned to Cindy, her hands over her head to protect it from the sprinklers.

“What do we do now, Cindy?” she said. Cindy looked down at Jimmy’s watch, now clamped to her wrist.

“We get help, that’s what we do.” she said. “Come on, everyone outside”. She led the way out the hole in the wall. By the light of the full moon, people dressed in their best attire were running terrified down the street in the wake of the orange monster. Jimmy didn’t seem interested in them, however. He scanned the screaming crowd for a certain someone, overturning cars and peering underneath. As the kids stood outside, taking in the bizarre scene, Sam crossed their path, running wildly with his hands over his head.

“Not again! I’m outta here, yeah.” He said. They watched his progress out of sight. Tearing her eyes away from the distraction, she looked down at the watch, tapping it with a finger.

 _“Oh I hope this works!”_ she thought. From the watch, she heard mechanical clicking and a bark. “Goddard?” she asked into the watch. On a tiny screen, the metal canine leaped up from the floor of Jimmy’s room and inclined his head.

“Goddard, no time to explain. Jimmy’s in trouble and we need your help. Come downtown as fast as you can.” An affirmative bark came from the bark. “Oh, and bring the jet-pack.” Another bark. She tapped the watch again, returning it to normal. She looked up at the gang.

“Ok guys, I know you want to help, but I need you to stay away from Jimmy while he’s like this.” She held up her hands as protests erupted from the group. “Look guys, listen. Last time we did this, we all had superpowers. But now we don’t have that advantage. I need you to stay here.”

“But Cindy…” Libby said. Cindy interrupted.

“No Libby. You guys have a good chance getting really hurt if you come. Do this for me now, and I’ll never ask anything from you again. Please. I don’t want to see any of you hurt.” Libby sighed.

“All right girl, but I don’t want to see you hurt either.” They looked up as Goddard whirled above them, a strap of Jimmy’s jet-pack held in his metal teeth. He landed and Cindy took the jet-pack from him, slowly putting it on.

 _“First the watch, and now his jet-pack. What’s next, his catchphrases?”_ She smiled a little. Staring determinately at her friends, she said, “Don’t worry. I have a plan.” She felt the red button on the jet-pack’s left strap. “I’ll see you guys later.” She said. She pressed the button, and felt the twin rockets pop from the side, roaring with fire. As she lifted up from the ground, on some strange impulse, she shouted, “Gotta blast!” and immediately stated laughing in spite of herself, both at herself and the looks on her friends faces as they grew smaller from her view in the sky.

 _“You now, being Jimmy has its quirks.”_ She thought as she streaked across the sky, Goddard in tow.

From her position in the sky, Cindy could see whole streets destroyed, fires, smashed cars, the usual damage. Cindy scanned for some sign of jet black hair, a glimpse of a maroon blazer, or a shimmer coming off of pair of pearly white buckteeth.

“If I were Eustace, where would I hide?” Cindy said to herself. She pondered this for a second, and then caught sight of Madame Melissa’s Expensive Jewelry Store. “Aha!” she said, maneuvering towards the store.


	6. Never Again

Cindy rocketed to the jewelry store and tried to land carefully, but with a sputtering from the jets, they gave out and she fell the short distance onto the hard pavement, landing on her butt.

“Ow. Not to self: Next time Jimmy does that, don’t laugh at him,” she said to herself, getting up and rubbing her backside. She looked through the store window, and saw deserted rows of glass display cases glittering with expensive gems. She opened the door, making the door bell echo strangely in the silent store. Walking carefully across the thin carpeted floor, Cindy tuned her acute senses to pick up the smallest hint of the rich boy’s presence. She walked behind the counter and suddenly, from a large cabinet, she heard a voice.

“Whoever you are, I’m warning you…go away or I’ll…I’ll…” Cindy opened the cabinet to find Eustace scrunched up in it, his hands halfheartedly in fists.

“You’ll what?” Cindy said, an amused smirk on her face. Eustace unclenched his pathetic fists and quickly put an irritated face over his frightened one.

“Oh it’s you, is it?” he said as he climbed out of the cabinet. He dusted off his blazer and attempted to seem as dignified as possible, but Cindy wasn’t impressed. She continued staring at him with an amused glare until he gave up.

“Oh all right, go ahead. Laugh at me for running away like a little girl. I know you want to.” He said. Cindy crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one side, still smirking.

“Actually, I came here with a proposition for you, Strych.” She said. Eustace slowly smiled, his dark eyes flashing. “A deal, eh?” he said. “All right, let’s hear it.” He too crossed his arms. Cindy put her hands on her hips and glared unafraid into his eyes.

“You know I want to get Jimmy under control, right?” she said.

“Right.” Eustace said slowly.

“And you like living here, in your big fancy mansion, right?”

“Right.”

“Well,” Cindy said, suddenly grabbing Eustace’s blazer. “If you don’t help me get Jimmy back to normal, I’ll kick you to Algeria!” Eustace held up his hands.

“Ah! Not the face!” he said. Cindy let Eustace go, her hands back on her hips.

“Do we have an understanding, then?”

“All right, I’ll help get your little boyfriend back, but no one better find out about this, or I’ll see no end of it.” Cindy rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She said.

Suddenly, an earth-quaking tremor shook the ground, knocking them to the floor, following by a distant roar.

“How, perchance, are we going to catch him…it…whatever you want to call it!” Eustace said exasperatedly, sitting up from the floor.

“I have a plan. It’s a bit sketchy, but it’ll have to do.” Cindy said. “Ok, I lead Jimmy somehow into that dead end at the end of Turner Street, where you’ll be hiding, and Goddard will secretly project a holographic car that will be falling straight at me. Hopefully, Jimmy won’t notice it’s not real.”

“And if he does?” Eustace yelled. Cindy ignored him.

“Jimmy will think I’m in trouble, and that’s where you come in. You ‘save’ me from the car, Jimmy’ll see it, think you’re not so bad, and turn back to normal.”

“And you think that’ll work?” Eustace said.

“Well, I don’t see any of your great plans!” Cindy took up her glare once again.

“Fine, but I still don’t like it.”

“Ok, now go to the dead end, and I’ll be there with Jimmy.” Cindy said. Eustace nodded, and they both ran out from behind the counter and out the door. Cindy watched Eustace sprint away around the corner. _“This has to work,”_ she thought as she once again blasted into the sky.

She found Jimmy in the park, straining to uproot a tree while the squirrel in it pelted him with acorns from above, making him even more angry.

 **“Squirrels mock Jimmy! Jimmy smash squirrels!”** he yelled. Cindy landed behind him where he couldn’t see her. Suddenly realizing that her N-men powers couldn’t save her if this went wrong, she was reluctant to attract hi attention. But she finally took a deep breath, and then called his name.

“Jimmy!” Cindy yelled. The monster stopped in mid-lift and turned around. A sudden look of mild happiness spread across his rocky face.

 **“Blond Girl!”** he said, taking a step forward. **“Jimmy glad to see you!”**

“You are?” Cindy said, a little confused. Jimmy nodded his head vigorously.

**“Ahuh. Blond Girl not so bad after you nice to Jimmy.”**

_“Oh,”_ Cindy thought, finally understanding. _“He still remembers what I said in the desert.”_ She blushed. The monster spoke.

 **“Hey,”** he said, his face now angry again. **“Blond Girl seen Snooty Boy?”** Cindy let a small laugh escape her lips.

 _“Nice name, it really fits.”_ she thought. Quickly thinking, she said, “Um, yeah. I’ve seen him. Um…follow me!” She turned the jetpack back on, making sure Jimmy followed. As she flew low through the now deserted streets, she had a sudden thought. Looking back, she was the back of her dress flapping wildly in the wind, and behind it, her flats.

“Here I am, saving the day for once, and I’m still dressed for a party!” she said to herself. Using her feet, she succeeded in pulling off her shoes, letting them fall onto the pavement.

Ah, that’s better.” she said, wiggling her toes.

Meanwhile, in the parking lot in front of the Candy Bar, Libby paced anxiously back and forth, while Sheen and Carl stood watching her progress.

“Do ya think she’s dizzy yet?” Carl said to Sheen in an audible whisper.

“I hope so, ‘cause then we can play Pin the Gloves on UltraLord!” Sheen replied. Libby stopped pacing to stare irritated at the boys, her hands on her hips.

“Can’t you guys be a little bit more worried? Cindy’s out there and probably gonna get hurt!” she said. Elke came up and stood beside Carl.

“Now that I now know what is going on, I too am worried for Cindy.” she said. Libby stared at the ground a moment, thinking, and then started walking determinately towards the streets.

“Come on, let’s go!” she yelled back to them. They exchanged glances, and then hurried to catch up to Libby.

“But…Libby, Cindy…said to…stay…here.” Carl said in between gasps for air.

“I don’t care.” Libby replied. “Cindy’s gonna need help, no matter what she says! Now hurry!”

Cindy landed in the middle of the street and quickly looked around the dead end.

 _“Good. Can’t see him.”_ she thought. She turned around as a great thud announced Jimmy’s arrival.

 **“Where is Snooty Boy? Jimmy smash Snooty Boy!”** he yelled, slamming a fist onto the asphalt. Cindy held up her hands cautiously.

“Easy, Jimmy. He should be here any minute.”

Meanwhile, Eustace knelt behind a mailbox, waiting for a signal. Listening to their conversation, he heard heavy breathing behind him. Thinking it was Goddard, he whispered, “Go away, you mechanical mongrel. Go do your job.” When the breathing continued, he turned his hand to push it away, still looking at Cindy and Jimmy. His hand met with fur.

Turning his head slowly, he came face to face with Humphrey, Cindy’s dog. Humphrey let out a low growl.

“Oh, crumpets.” Eustace murmured.

Jimmy was growing impatient. He started peering through the windows of cars, searching beneath them, and yelling for Eustace to show up.

“Try to be patient.” Cindy said. “You need…” But suddenly, Eustace came screaming from behind his mailbox, followed by Humphrey, who barked and snapped at him.

“Get this mangy mutt off me!” Eustace yelled.

“Humphrey! Bad dog! Get…no…heel!” Cindy disciplined to Humphrey.

Jimmy, finally seeing his target, let out an earth shattering snarl, sending Humphrey running terrified away, yapping like a puppy.

 **“Snooty Boy! Jimmy smash!”** he said, stomping towards Eustace.

Cindy gasped, sensing the danger, and abandoned her place to stand protectively in front of Eustace.

“Jimmy! Stop! This isn’t like you!”

 **“Move, Blond Girl! Jimmy need to smash Snooty Boy!”** Jimmy said, waving a giant hand to try to shove her away. Cindy planted her feet onto the road, and stared determinately at Jimmy.

“No, Jimmy! You need to listen. I…” She stopped in mid sentence as a bizarre scene played out behind Jimmy’s head.

 **“What Blond Girl looking at?”** Jimmy said, following her gaze.

Flying through the air came a seemingly real yellow car, followed by Goddard, who flew behind it, projecting it out from his mouth. He couldn’t see them, however, and continued making the car tumble through the air until, with the tell tale sound of crashing metal, it landed in exactly the same place Cindy had been a few moments ago. Goddard finally saw the group, and pulled the projection back through his mouth, leaving an empty space on the ground. He took a few steps forward, inclining his head quizingly.

 **“What going on, Blond Girl?”** Jimmy said after a long silence, looking back at her. Cindy sighed, pressing her fingers into her furrowed brow, closing her eyes. She paused as she listened to the girlish whimpers of Eustace behind her.

“That,” she said finally, opening her eyes. “Was part of our plan to try to trick you into liking Eustace. But, like always, it didn’t work.” She looked up pleadingly at Jimmy, only to meet with a terrifying sight.

Jimmy growled angrily as he slapped Cindy full force, sending her crashing into a brick building. She dragged to the ground, where she lay, unconscious.

 **“That’ll teach Blond Girl to trick Jimmy! Blond Girl not nice no more.”** Jimmy yelled. **“Now back to before.”** He turned his attention to Eustace, who was staring disbelieving at Cindy’s unmoving form.

“Cindy? Oh my! This is…this is horrible!” he said, eyes darting back and forth. He looked up just in time to see Jimmy raise his arms up to pumble him.

“Mommy!” he screamed, jumping out of the way just in time. He scrambled back to his feet and stumbled towards Cindy. “I’m too rich to be dealing with this.” he said to himself.

 **“Snooty Boy always mean to Jimmy too, even more than Blond Girl.”** Jimmy said as he stomped towards Eustace. He lifted a real car above his head. **“Now Jimmy get rid of Snooty Boy for good!”**

Goddard ran up in front of Jimmy, growling up at his some-time master. Jimmy glanced down at the metal pup, and then gave him a light kick, enough for Goddard to crash into the wall beside Cindy.

Eustace searched hopelessly for an escape route as Jimmy came nearer, welding the car above his head. Faced with imminent death, he came to his very last resort: an apology.

“All right, all right! I’m sorry!” He screamed, putting his hands up to protect him. Jimmy stopped, staring confused at Eustace.

**“Snooty Boy…sorry?”**

“Well, yes.” Eustace said, slowly putting his hands down. “I guess the real reason I’m so mean to you all the time is because I’m…a little jealous, to be frank. You can make all those interesting little gadgets, and have all your friends, and the affections of a lovely lady…and all I have is money. And I’m jealous.” He paused to fall onto his knees, a little dizzy.

“Oh my…that took quite a lot out of me. If you excuse me, I feel a nice long faint coming on.” And with that, he crumpled to the ground.

Jimmy slowly lowered the car onto the ground, staring at the threesome laying knocked out on the ground.

**“Maybe Blond Girl right. Maybe Snooty Boy not so bad. Maybe…”**

Suddenly, pain seared through his entire body as he slowly began to shrink. Realizing this, the monster yelled out, **“No! Jimmy not going back! Jimmy no…”**

The transformation was complete. A normal sized Jimmy opened his blue eyes and looked around.

“I’m…I’m back!” he said, staring down at his hand. “Cindy, I…” He jumped in shock as he saw Goddard, Cindy, and Eustace unconscious on the ground. Jimmy fell onto his knees, his eyes downcast.

“It was too late.” he murmured. Reaching for Cindy’s hand, he held it tightly as he vowed, “I’m never letting this happen again.”

Quickly holding his hand as he suddenly felt dizzy, he too fell unconscious, still holding Cindy’s hand. And that was how Libby, Carl, Elke, and Sheen found them.


	7. Runaway Rocketboy

"Look, she's waking up."

"Thank goodness!"

Cindy slowly opened her eyes to find her family and friends watching around her hospital bed. She saw a dark blur streak past, and suddenly Libby was by her side. Blinking in the bright light, Cindy looked at Libby and then did a quick head count around the room. Someone was missing.

"Where's Jimmy?" she asked, her eyes pleading to the people in the room. Mrs. Neutron piped up from the back, "I'll go get him." She rushed out the room. It was then that Cindy noticed that her right leg was propped in a cast at the end of the bed.

"I broke my leg?" she asked.

"Thank goodness that was all you broke," her mother commented, leaning closer to her husband.

"So, how are the others? What happened to Jimmy, Eustace, and Goddard?" Cindy asked.

"Goddard's fine, deary," Mrs. Wheezer assured her. "He's in Jimmy's room right now."

"And Eustace was discharged this morning," Libby added. "Apparently all he did was faint. As for Jimmy..."

Carl continued for her. "We found him lying near you when we got there. He was, um...holding your hand." He blushed nervously, averting his gaze. "B...but he's fine now. He just woke up a little while ago."

"The first thing he asked was if you were ok. We told him you had broken your leg. After that, he got pretty quiet. Just laid there, looking blankly at the wall..." Cindy's dad said.

"But he'll be thrilled to know you're awake," Libby finished.

 _"He held my hand?"_ Cindy thought. She blushed.

Suddenly, Jimmy's mom rushed into the room, followed by Goddard. Tears streamed from her eyes. "He's gone!" she cried.

"Gone?" Libby asked, astonished. "What do ya mean, 'gone'?"

"When I went in to get him," Jimmy's mom explained. "his bed was empty and poor Goddard was whimpering near the open window. He...he left a note." She pulled out a piece of paper and chokingly read from it: "Dear everyone...I have run...away in order to protect you from what I...have become. Please don't look for me... Signed, Jimmy." She crumpled the note and grabbed her husband, hugging him tightly as new tears poured down her face.

"My baby!" she cried.

Cindy lay dumbfounded on her bed, jaw hung open. Jimmy, running away? It was unheard of, unbelievable, and so unlike him. And yet, she couldn't blame his actions. She knew she'd want to stay away in case the transformation happened again. So, why did she feel so empty inside?

Jimmy's mom suppressed her wails long enough to hand her another note. "This one...is addressed to you." Cindy took it, staring bewildered at her name drawn carefully on the folded paper.

She waited until night to read it. Feigning sleep when a nurse walked by her door, she held the note tightly underneath her pillow. At last, she sat up, snapped on the bedside lamp, and cautiously unfolded the paper to reveal Jimmy's unmistakable, messy scrawl.

> Dear Cindy,
> 
> When you read this note, I will probably be arriving at my destination. Where this destination is, I can't say, but please know that I can and will think of you everyday I am here. After I learned that I had broken you leg, I decided to give myself permanent exile, in order to protect you and others from another attack. As I said in the other note, please don't look for me.
> 
> I am leaving you Goddard, because I don't want to harm him either, and because I know you'll care for him. I'm also leaving you the small inventory of inventions I have left in my room. Tell the guys I'll miss them.
> 
> Love,
> 
> Jimmy

So many questions... _"Where is he? Why couldn't he make another antidote? And why...why did he sign his name in love?"_

In the morning, she woke to find Goddard snoozing at the end of her bed. "I am leaving you Goddard..." Was it true? Was Jimmy's first and greatest invention truly hers?

"Goddard?" she spoke softly. The mechanical dog stirred, looking up sleepily at her. He stood up, shook himself, and stepping gingerly around her broken leg, came to lay by her side, whimpering sadly.

"I know, Goddard. I miss him too," she said, stroking his cool, metal back. Suddenly, she heard a beeping sound coming from the watch that was still clamped to her wrist. Jimmy's watch...

She tapped it with her finger to see Commander Baker's face.

"Agent Neutron, I..." He stopped short when he noticed Cindy. "Oh...Miss Vortex? Well, this is unexpected. Why do you have Agent Neutron's wrist communicator?"

Cindy sighed sadly. "It's a long story, Commander."

After Cindy told him the whole dramatic story, Commander Baker saluted and assured her that those at BTSO would make it a top priority to find Agent Neutron. Cindy thanked him and terminated the transmission.

She was released from the hospital a few days later. Cooped up in her room all day, her mind tended to wander. She daydreamed about Jimmy’s homecoming, of the laughs, the hugs, the kisses. In her imagination, Jimmy was back to his old self, with his normal skin color, and a gleam of joy in his blue eyes.

Everyday, Commander Baker reported to her via the watch. Everyday, he told her they had not found him yet. As each day passed, Cindy’s daydreams turned to nightmares. She imagined him lost in some forsaken city, being chased by wild animals, or crawling helplessly in a desert.

Days turned to weeks and weeks into months. Commander Baker seemed ever confident. He told her that they had never given up a search yet.

“We are waiting for a report from a team who is searching the outer planets, primarily their moons. We should get it by the end of the week.”

When school started again, Cindy buried herself in her studies, trying to keep her mind occupied, but no matter how much she studied, she couldn’t put him out of her mind. It didn’t seem to be just her, however. The whole town seemed to have become more solemn in Jimmy’s absence. Sheen and Carl were the worst off. Sheen’s Ultralord rants became fewer and far between. Carl, having nothing better to do after school, ate his sorrow away with ice cream and candy. Even Libby felt the sober; she started listening to blues and played the saddest melodies on her keyboard. 

His parents, in proud stubbornness, refused to declare him dead. They knew their son. They knew he was alive, but that didn’t stop his mom from longing. Cindy couldn’t look either of them in the eye, knowing that she knew more about the search for him than they did. Commander Baker had forbidden her to tell them about any of BTSO’s missions.

“We can’t endanger our agents’ lives.”

Time passed, and slowly, the town returned to a sense of normalcy. It was a normal unheard of in those parts. No meteors hurtled towards them, no aliens came to visit. In short, Retroville became the unassuming small town it had aspired to be.

Before she knew it, Cindy and the rest of her class were ending their first year of high school. Summer awaited them. In the aftermath of their cheers of freedom, a message from Commander Baker added to the children’s hopes.

“We think we’ve found him.”

Soon after, Cindy, Libby, Carl, and Sheen found themselves in a dark board room sitting in a row along the long, black table.

After years of searching,” Commander Baker began. “We believe we have finally located Agent Neutron.”

“So, where is he?” Cindy asked impatiently. “Outer space?”

“The North Pole?” Sheen offered.

“Canada?” Carl added.

“No, no, and no,” Commander Baker answered. “Let me explain.”

A screen appeared behind him, with the world map projected on it. A red target had been placed in the middle of the Pacific.

“This morning, our scanners picked up a sudden increase in carbon emissions and air temperature around the presumably landless area of the Pacific Ocean. We presume there has been an explosion.”

Cindy gasped. _“Of course!”_ she thought. _“Why didn’t I think of it in the first place?”_

“Do you know why Agent Neutron would choose this particular spot as his place of exile, Miss Vortex?” Commander Baker asked, noticing her recognition.

“Um…I have an idea, yes,” she answered sheepishly. Libby gave her a sideways glace.

“In any case,” he continued. “The scanners indicate that a large explosion occurred on this spot at 1:47 a.m. local time.”

“Do you think he’s hurt?” Cindy asked.

“We are not sure, and given the delicacy of the situation, we’ve decided to send you to this uncharted landmass and bring him home.”

All the kids brightened up at this remark. 

“Now, you’ll need some equipment,’ he added. “If you’ll follow me, we will fit you for your suits.” While the rest got up from their chairs, he leaned into Cindy’s face and whispered. “And I have a very important task for you on this mission.”

 

Sheen tugged at the navy blue material that hugged his thighs. “It’s kinda tight,” he commented.

“It’s called ‘form fitting’ for a reason, Sheen,” Cindy said.

“But did we all have to wear the same color?” Libby asked.

“I’m sorry, but navy blue is the only alternative color besides the original black and since you’re going to an uncharted island, I think you’ll prefer the blue.” He paused, putting his hands behind his back. “Now, there’s something else you should know about these suits. Do you remember the super suits I asked Agent Neutron to make?”

“You mean the ones that started this whole mess?” Cindy crossed her arms accusingly.

“Yes, well, in the years since, we’ve taken up that project ourselves. It took longer with the new safety procedures, but it was successfully completed a few months ago. These suits you are wearing are the final product, available to any BTSO agent. All of you now possess the collective powers of Special Girl, The Invisible Sister, and Vibrating Lad.”

“Alright!” Sheen exclaimed. “I haven’t been Vibrating Lad in years!” To test out his powers, he sped up and down the hall a few times.

“You’re not worried that we’ll abuse them?” Libby asked.

“That was when you were children.” Commander Baker explained. “Now you are capable of handling such responsibilities.” He looked meaningfully at Cindy.

> _“Miss Vortex,” Commander Baker began as Carl finally shuffled from the board room. “As you are aware, Agent Neutron has been living with his mutated ‘condition’ for several years now. We can only imagine how dangerous he has become to himself and to those around him in this time. Before we can return him to civilization, he must be cured.”_
> 
> _“You mean you—”_
> 
> _“Yes, we have developed an antidote just for this instance and I am giving you the responsibility of administering it to him. But, you must understand something about his mutation. When he was first inflicted after the lab explosion, we took an analysis of his condition. In those reports, we found an interesting and terrible fact. The reason he was able to regain his powers so quickly after the incident is that the mutation was never fully absorbed by the antidote that he made. A tiny part of the mutation remained even after he apparently returned to normal.”_
> 
> _“How is that possible?” Cindy asked. “We all took the antidote and we don’t have our powers still.”_
> 
> _“This is because you’re powers were not attached to your emotions. His, however, is rooted deeply in his anger and rage. As long as he possesses those emotions, the mutation will never fully disappear.”_
> 
> _“So, even after this antidote, there’s still a chance the monster will return?”_
> 
> _“Unfortunately, yes. If he is exposed to even the least amount of radiation, the mutation will grow again.” He handed her a small vial of blue liquid._
> 
> _“I understand,” she agreed sadly._

“Good luck, team,” Commander Baker wished the gang, putting his hands behind his back proudly. “The coordinates to the island have been sent to your wrist watch, Miss Vortex. Bring Agent Neutron home.”

Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, Sheen was finally getting the hang of his new flying abilities.

“I think I’ve got it now,” he announced as he steadied himself.

“Yeah, after you crashed half a million times!” Cindy replied. “Though it was funny when you almost bumped into that jet plane awhile ago.” Sheen either didn't hear her or had ignored her comment because he changed the subject.

“Hey, I wonder what Jimmy’s gonna say when he sees us. It’s been so long.”

“Yeah, it has,” Cindy murmured half to herself.

“Are we there yet?” Carl asked from the rear. “I’m getting tired and bugs keep flying into my mouth.”

“It’s only two hundred miles now. We’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Cindy told him.

Soon, a fuzzy green line appeared on the horizon which quickly grew into the eerily familiar sight of a tropical island.

 _“It looks exactly the same now as it did on that day, when I watched it fade away as we went home,”_ Cindy thought. Suddenly, the memories flooded her mind. A sunset, a seashell, and the summer breeze…

 _“I’m so stupid! I should have known he’d hide here.”_ The note he left her had said, “I can and will think of you everyday…” It was practically a clue! What better place to think of her than the island where they spent so many happy moments together?

“I just hope he isn’t angry that we came…”

After the cloud of dust had fallen away, Sheen dug himself out of the sand dune he had crashed into.

“Nice landing,” Cindy commented sarcastically as Libby helped him up.

“Carl!” Sheen said. “You messed me up! You said landing was head first!” The pudgy teenager just smirked mischievously.

“So,” Libby interjected. “Where do we go now?”

“The tree houses,” Cindy replied, a faraway look in her eye.


	8. Signs and Saucers

The first thing they saw was a small grove of banana trees to one side of the tree house. They were growing in straight lines across the sand, perpendicular to the crashing waves across the beach.

“Looks like Jimmy started his own little farm,” Cindy commented, touching one of the trunks lightly. 

Suddenly, a large set of teeth bounded out of the undergrowth in the form of a wild dog. Libby quickly summoned a force field from her hands and the dog crashed into it painfully. After getting back up, it started growling at each one of them in turn, occasionally throwing in some sharp barks. 

“D-do we have to kill it?” Carl asked uncertainly. Just then, Cindy noticed the metallic collar on its neck.

“Sit!” she commanded the dog. Immediately, it lowered its haunches and stopped barking.

“How did you know it’d do that?” Libby asked as she lowered her force field.

“Look, it has a collar,” Cindy answered. “It’s tame.”

“What’s a pet dog doing out here on the island?” Carl asked. 

“I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out.” Cautiously, Cindy inched herself towards the dog, making soft cooing noises. At last, she carefully put her hand on the dog’s head. It leaned into her touch, closing its eyes contentedly.

“It’s ok,” she said to the others. “It’s friendly now.” She continued to pet the dog as she hunched over to search the collar it wore. “What’s your name, huh?” She whispered to it sweetly. She found the dog tag at last. “Tesla…” 

“So it’s a she?” Libby asked.

“Yep,” Cindy confirmed. “And it proves that this is Jimmy’s dog.”

“Wait, what? How can that be Jimmy’s dog?” 

“You guys know that Goddard is named after a famous scientist, right? Well, Tesla is the last name of Nikola Tesla, who was famous for his discoveries in electrical engineering. This is defiantly Jimmy’s.”

“Man, a banana farm, a new dog. What else did Jimmy do here?” Sheen asked, looking around.

“Let’s find out,” Cindy said.

It seemed that over the years, Jimmy had renovated the tree houses extensively. The lumber, instead of reinforced with vines, were held together with bands of dark metal. The supports that held them to the trees were made with the same metal and a wooden bridge had been made between the houses. On the sand, the fire pit had remained largely the same, although a few cooking utensils, like a spatula made out of bone, lay beside it now. A pelt of white fur was stretched over the old log by the pit. Tesla ran ahead of the group, barking happily. She stepped into the much bigger wooden lift on the right tree house and sat down, waiting for them.

“I guess we should go up and see if he’s home,” Libby said. Sheen and Carl, still unsure of their flying abilities, took the lift with Tesla while Libby and Cindy flew up and onto the porch. They stepped into the small room. There was a bed piled with furs in the far corner and what looked like a wardrobe in the other. A desk faced the window, which had a spectacular view of the ocean. A few items were sprawled across the desk and the floor: a fish bone comb, pieces of rough, home-made paper, a twisted knot of dried vines which appeared to be a doggie toy. Tesla walked in and immediately laid down in a pile of furs on the floor.

“Sweet digs!” Sheen commented, looking around approvingly with a grin on his face. Libby rolled her eyes. “Jimmy!” she yelled through the door that led to the bridge. The others echoed her call as they migrated across the bridge and into the other tree house.

“Damn it! He’s not here!” Cindy cursed into the room.

“Yeah, but just look at all this stuff!” Libby said.

Large, bulky computers, looking like they had been build with bamboo, stood along one of the walls, blinking softly. On the opposite side, a long lab table had been build into the wall and numerous cabinets and shelves lined the wall above. All manner of scientific equipment was sprawled on the table, test tubes, beakers, rough pieces of paper with complicated equations scrawled on them with what looked like red berry ink.

“How could he have done all this?” Cindy wondered out-loud. “He didn’t bring any of the inventions he had left in his room. The only thing he took was the hover-car.”

“I stopped wondering how he did stuff like this the week after I met him,” Carl told her, shrugging.

“Well, it’s safe to say he’s not here,” Libby said, looking around the junglized lab one more time. “You guys stay here in case he comes back here. Me and Cindy are gonna look around the area a bit.”

“Roger that, sweet cheeks!” Sheen quipped, saluting.

“We should check the waterfall first,” Cindy said as they flew out of the open door and into the lush foliage of the jungle. “That’s the closest fresh-water source on the island.”

“You know this island better than I do,” Libby replied, smirking.

A short while later, the girls returned to find the boys running around the beach with Tesla.

“Did ya find him?” Sheen asked between gasps for breath.

“If we did, would we have come back here alone?” Cindy retorted.

“I guess not,” Sheen said, smiling sheepishly.

Libby bent down to pet Tesla’s head. “We did find out how he got electricity. He made some kind of electric generator using the waterfall we checked.”

“Oh, that reminds me!” Sheen exclaimed. Without an explanation, he sped up the tree using his vibrating powers and into the left tree-house. A split second later, he was back, holding an old leather-bound book. “Jimmy kept a journal log all these years,” he told the girls, making air quotes with his fingers as he said ‘journal log.’

“Lemme see,” Cindy demanded, grabbing it from Sheen’s hands.

“There’s a few more in the tree-house,” Carl added. “That’s the first one.”

Cindy opened the journal to the first page and began to read aloud. “Journal log, August 24,” she read. “I have decided to keep a journal log on the island, to record my day’s activities and track my progress over the coming years of my isolation. It has been one month and two days since my arrival. My first action was to disassemble the hover-car that had transported me to the island, in order to cut off any transportation off the island. On the way here I discovered that my hypercube had been put in the glove compartment, so I stopped once to stock up on some materials that would be hard to produce on the island, such as wires, glass stuff, and metal. I’ve already used the steel I got and reinforced it with carbon from some of the plants. I’m in the middle of renovating the tree-houses with this metal. I need to hurry, however. Typhoon season is coming, and I want to have them finished before one comes along.

“So far, the monster hasn’t taken over my body since I left. I am relieved by his absence, but I know he will come back soon. He seems to gain control when I become angry or upset. It won’t be long before I feel these emotions again, I am sure. I am glad I have picked this island for my exile. There are no other people and I can ward away any angry feelings I have by thinking of the happy memories Cindy and I share from this island.”

At this line, Cindy started blushing and stopped reading. Libby, with a knowing look in her eye, started walking towards the tree-houses. “Let’s go somewhere more comfortable to read. How ‘bout we all crash in Jimmy’s room?”

“Sure, ok,” Cindy agreed, closing the book slowly.

“Maybe it’ll have a clue to where Jimmy is,” Carl added with a smile.

“We can only hope,” Libby replied.

> Journal Log: September 6
> 
> Renovations to the tree-houses are complete and I am in the process of making an emergency stockpile of food and supplies in case a storm hits the island. Coconuts and bananas will only sustain me for so long even if the supply is plentiful. At some point, I will need show some backbone and hunt for protein. I think fish is a good first step. I have not seen any other animals, however, not even Darwin. Perhaps they sense ‘him’ inside me. Points for animal intuition, I guess.
> 
> ‘He’ came out the other day, but only for a little bit. I had stubbed my toe on a rock in the sand. It doesn’t take much to provoke him, it seems. After smashing the rock into rubble, he subsided. I fear that he will one day take out his rage on the tree-houses and I will have to start over from scratch…

“Who’s Darwin?” Libby asked from the pile of furs that she and Tesla were lying on.

“There was monkey that liked to hang around us when Jimmy and I were on the island together,” Cindy explained, looking over from the top of the journal she was reading aloud. “I wasn’t too fond of it at first, but it turned out to be really friendly, so we decided to give it a name. Jimmy came up with ‘Darwin’. He could have quite the weird sense of humor sometimes.” She smirked as she turned the page and began reading aloud again.

> Journal Log: Year 2, March 18
> 
> I found a wild dog in the jungle this morning. She had twisted her leg between a crook in a tree’s roots and had broken it. She’s in the tree-house now, recuperating. If I play my cards right, I could tame this dog and have her with me when I’m hunting. I just have to make sure that ‘he’ doesn’t scare her away.
> 
> Yesterday, I finally completed the electricity generator and set it up underneath the waterfall. This opens the door for so many other things I could create for myself.

> Journal Log: Year 2, June 21
> 
> Big news! I found a huge deposit of silicon today! I can make some computer components from this! Looks like this was the perfect island for exile.

“This is gonna take forever!” Sheen complained. “There’s like eight of those journals!”

“Aren’t you the least big curious what he’s been doing here this whole time?” Cindy argued. “And besides, maybe there might be a clue in here about where he could be when he’s not at the tree-house.”

“Just skip to the last book then!” Sheen whined. 

“If it’ll keep you quiet, then fine!” Cindy growled, snatching the last book from the shelf and opening it to a random page.

> Journal Log, Year 4, April 9
> 
> ‘He’ took over again. I had been going around looking at my animal traps and found that not one of them had caught anything. This was all it took to give him leverage. He took out his rage on the jungle, which was bad enough, but he also destroyed…

“Oh no…” Cindy whispered, her eyes wide. Without another word, she ran out of the tree-house, jumped off the porch, and began flying across the beach. The book fluttered its pages in her wake until they landed on the page she had been reading from.

> “…he also destroyed our tree.” 

Cindy’s heart was clamped tight in her throat as she flew above the sand, scanning the edge of the jungle for something she hoped she wouldn’t find. But find it she did, and as she plummeted to the sand next to it small tears started to collect at the edges of her eyes. With a thud she landed, making a small crater of sand.

It was just as the journal had said. This small part of the jungle had been torn apart recently. Ground that did not normally get a lot of sunlight was filled with green undergrowth, which almost hid the sad forms of fallen palm trees. She looked down sadly at the one before her. Even after five years, she could still see the heart carved into its bark and the letters ‘J/C Forever’. Gingerly, she put her hand on the carving, tracing some of the letters with her fingers. 

It took the rest of the gang several minutes to find her. Libby cautiously approached her crouching form while the boys hung back, clearly uncomfortable about the situation. Softly, Libby knelt beside her best friend and held out the brown-backed journal.

“I’m fine,” Cindy said forcibly, taking the book. She wiped her eyes with one hand. “Thanks,” she added with a softer tone.

“No problem, girl. You know I’m always here for ya,” Libby replied, hugging Cindy with one arm.

“I just can’t help thinking that this symbolizes something. Look, even Jimmy thought so.” She opened up the journal again.

> He took out his rage on the jungle, which was bad enough, but he also destroyed our tree. Usually I’m not one to be superstitious, but maybe this incident further illustrates why I cannot go back to Retroville. Not only does this monster hurt my friends, but even the memories I have of them are tainted with his anger. After living with the monster for so many years it is becoming harder to recall happy moments with my friends and family. I do not know why he destroyed the tree, however. He seems to like Cindy, for some reason.
> 
> After I discovered the tree when I first arrived on the island, I remember how the monster seemed so docile for a while. It seems he knew that Cindy had carved it. I fear now that he has destroyed it, his anger will escalate even further.

“Come on, girl!” Libby comforted. “You know all that isn’t true. I’m sure that as soon as he sees us, he’ll beg us to take him home.”

“I’m not so sure,” Cindy countered, looking back at the fallen palm tree. She was silent for a moment, and then got up from the sand. “But we’ve got a mission to complete,” she said. _“And besides,”_ she thought to herself. _“I’ve got an antidote. He’ll come back then.”_

The boys ran to join the girls once they realized the drama was over. “Can’t we just skip to the last entry?” Sheen whined. “I don’t care if Jimmy made a water purifimacation thingy or where the best hunting spots are.”

“Fine,” Cindy agreed, flipping to the last page.

> Journal Log: June 3, Year 5
> 
> This evening I decided to take a walk on the beach with Tesla and I found what appears to be a spaceship on the opposite side of the island. I did not get very close, but I could tell that it had landed only recently. It must have come while I was checking on the electricity generator at the waterfall because I did not see or hear it land. I do not know what kind of alien is aboard. I will investigate more thoroughly tomorrow. Since they landed here and not in the downtown of some city, I’m cautiously hoping that they are friendly beings. They might even require my assistance.

“That’s the last entry,” Cindy said, shutting the book, her eyes traveling around to look at each of her friends in turn.

“Wouldn’t the BTSO guys notice if a spaceship was on the other side of the island?” Libby asked.

“Maybe the aliens left already,” Carl shrugged.

Cindy gasped. “And what if they took Jimmy with them?” She started to rise up in the air. “Come on!” she ordered. “We’ve gotta check it out.”

Realizing the urgency of the matter, the rest of the gang shot up in the air, leaving a small dust cloud in their wake. They skirted the beach, looking for any sign that a spaceship had landed recently. They saw nothing.

“This is bad, guys,” Cindy worried. “If Jimmy’s been kidnapped by those aliens, we’ll never be able to find out where he is!”

“Maybe we’ll find a clue in the sand,” Libby said, leading the way back towards the ground. Suddenly, they all felt the air around them become heavy.

“Whoa! Does anyone else feel this?” Sheen yelled, waving his hands around him.

“Feels like a force field of some kind,” Cindy reasoned. “Looks like the aliens haven’t left after all. I think we can pass though, so let’s go.”

As they continued to float towards the ground, there was another surprise. The heavy atmosphere fell away and suddenly the beach was not empty anymore. A saucer-shaped spaceship materialized on the sand, supported by three thin metallic stilts. It was leaning to the side slightly with a gaping hole where it was lower, its edges peeling away in rolls. There were no signs of life, but two plastic lawn chairs had been set up near the tide, facing the horizon.

“A short-range invisibility generator…” Cindy commented. She squinted at the spaceship _“Wait a minute…”_

“Everyone, hide!” she barked, leading the way to the tree line where they took cover in the underbrush.

“What’s the deal, Cindy?” Libby questioned, whispering harshly. “No one’s around.”

“That’s Grandma Tater’s spaceship,” Cindy answered, pointing at the metal saucer. “You guys would barely remember her, seeing as you were drooling zombies when you first saw her.”

“You mean that creepy old lady from the League of Villains?” Carl asked.

“Exactly,” Cindy confirmed. “We have to be careful. Judging by that hole, I’d say Jimmy’s already given her a warm welcome. Or more precisely, that orange monster has.”

“That must be where all the smoke was coming from that the BTSO had picked up,” Libby rationalized.

“But where are they now?” Cindy wondered, scanning the surrounding beach for life signs. Suddenly, two Grandma Taters started climbing down the saucer’s lowered staircase, heading towards the lawn chairs.

“There are more than one?” Libby whispered anxiously.

“Yeah, and they all look exactly same,” Cindy said.

“I can’t hear what they’re sayin’.” Sheen complained, trying to lean closer.

“Hello. Super hearing.” Cindy smirked, pointing to her own ear. “Just concentrate on them and it should work.”

The Taters had settled into the lawn chairs and were admiring the shimmering ocean. 

“…such a clever boy, isn’t he?”

“Oh, he’s brighter than the Algerian Lights, deary! Now that we have that brute side of him under control, he’s just as happy as clam to help repair the ship.”

“I’m in not much of a hurry to leave, to tell you the truth. This island is such a lovely vacation spot.”

“Well deary, I don’t see why we couldn’t stay for a while longer. I’m sure the boy would be happy to help us relax. Oh deary!” 

A familiar silhouette appeared in the saucer’s doorway. In the brush, the gang gasped in shock. Jimmy walked steadily down the metal stairs, a ridiculous smile plastered on his face. In the five years since his disappearance, he had gotten much taller and there was a faint sign of stubble around his orange face. His clothes had apparently been replaced, however, because he was wearing a skin-tight space suit and a pink, frilly apron stained with oil.

Jimmy finally came to stand between the two Grandma Taters. “Yes, Grandma?”


End file.
